England v Sri Lanka, Investec 2nd Test Match Day 1 (CLOSE)

Close:

Broad took a hat-trick and Liam Plunkett returned Test Match best figures of 5-64 as Sri Lanka were bowled all out for 257.

Broad became just the third man in Test history to take two hat-tricks, but the most remarkable thing was that he and his teammates were oblivious to the situation on the field. After taking a wicket with the last ball of his over, Broad then got two in two at the start of his next over after Plunkett struck at the other end in a spell of four wickets in nine balls.

Alastair Cook won the toss in the morning and put the visitors in to bat.

Jimmy Anderson, who produced a masterful display of swing bowling, removed Kaushal Silva for 13, caught behind by Matt Prior, and the diminutive batsman was followed back to the pavilion by his opening partner Dimuth Karunaratne who had his stumps splayed all over the place by Plunkett.

Plunkett got stuck in to the Sri Lankan middle order after lunch, removing Jayawardena and Lahiru Thirmanne in consecutive deliveries, the second of which was a vicious, rising delivery that Thirimanne could only fend to Sam Robson at short leg.
Angelo Mathews attempted to counter attack the English attack but Anderson returned to the attack to have him caught well at third slip by Gary Balance, and remove the dangerous opposing captain for 26.

Sangakkara moved past 50 despite the regular fall of wickets at the other end and despite giving away several chances the worst of which was floored by Prior on 27. The England keeper seemed to be already celebrating the wicket as the ball hit him in the chest and fell to the floor to the dismay of the Yorkshire crowd.

Dinesh Chandimal and Sangakkara fought back well after tea from 161-5 and were threatening to ruin England’s hard work before a superb catch from Ian Bell in his 100th Test helped remove the left-hander for 79.

This started the period of carnage, as Plunkett had Dhammika Prasad caught behind for a duck before Broad returned next over to complete his hat-trick, removing Chandimal for 45 and Shaminda Eranga at the start of the over.

Broad’s hat-trick was announced over the tannoy to the bemusement of the players and even the man himself before he cottoned on to what had happened.

Yorkshire pace man Plunkett grabbed the last wicket of the innings to finish with a well-deserved five-for, his best figures in Test cricket.

There was time for 18 overs for England to bat out before the close of play, which they did without concern, reaching 36-0.

Tea:

Liam Plunkett burst through the Sri Lankan middle-order on a sunny afternoon at Headingley to put England firmly in control on the first day of the 2nd Investec Test Match.

Plunkett had clean bowled Dimuth Karunaratne in the morning session and produced a spell of hostile fast bowling to leave the Sri Lankan innings in tatters, claiming 3-47.

The Yorkshire fast bowler was unlucky not to have dismissed Kumar Sangakkara, after finding the edge of the bat only to see Matt Prior drop a regulation catch behind the stumps as the rest of the team wheeled away in celebration.

Despite the drop, Plunkett soon had Mahela Jayawardena caught out at second slip. Chris Jordan was the man that took a spectacular low, one-handed catch to dismiss the former Sri Lankan skipper for 22.

The very next ball Lahiru Thirimanne fended a rising short ball straight to Sam Robson at short leg who made no mistake, leaving Plunkett on a hat-trick and Sri Lanka 108-4.

Angelo Mathews looked to counter attack for the visitors, and targeted the part-time spin of Moeen Ali, lofting him into the rugby ground forcing Alastair Cook to withdraw him from the attack.

Mathews reached 26 before he was dismissed by Jimmy Anderson, caught well at third slip by Gary Balance for his second wicket if the day.

However despite offering up a plethora of chances, Sangakkara reached 50 and was unbeaten at the break, playing some of the classy shots that he is so well known for.

Sri Lanka finished the afternoon session on 182-5, with Sangakkara on 67 and Dinesh Chandimal 10 the unbeaten batsmen.

Lunch:

England made a good start to the 2nd Investec Test Match against Sri Lanka at Headingley, reducing the visitors to 74-2 at the end of the first session.

After choosing to bowl first, Alastair Cook and his men were led on to the field by Ian Bell who is appearing in his 100th Test this week.

The Sri Lankan openers, Kaushal Silva and Dimuth Karunaratne made a solid start in testing conditions with Jimmy Anderson in particular getting the ball to move in the air.

Stuart Broad had a shout for LBW turned down by umpire Billy Bowden against Silva, with replays showing that the decision would have been overturned if Broad had managed to convince the captain to review the decision.

However with the score on 37-0, Anderson got a ball to straighten to Silva and caught the outside edge of the bat, with Matt Prior completing the catch to dismiss Silva for 13.

Anderson bowled an excellent spell but was replaced by Liam Plunkett who ripped out the stumps of Karunaratne with just his second ball to reduce the visitors to 56-2.

Plunkett and Chris Jordan had key men Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena in all sorts of trouble before the lunch break as the sun came out, but both men survived to go into the break with the score on 74-2.